Catching Lightning
by Constantly Constantine
Summary: Children are simple and adults grow complex, how does one become simple if born complex? By catching lightning of course. My take on a very strong and believable Naruto. Going to focus on character development and setting a bar for many OOC people. People's ages up to my discretion as well as how things actually work.
1. Chapter 1

"Alright class, today we have a new student transferring up from the first year's level," Umino Iruka began, settling the classroom down "Everyone please be courteous as he makes the transition to harder subjects." As he finished a deft knock was heard at the door. "Come in."

As the door opened a small boy with deep golden hair held in a ponytail going down his back stepped in. He had dark blue almost purple eyes that seemed to be a shifting miasma of those colors. The most shocking aspect of his appearance however was his face. It wasn't just and emotionless mask, it seemed formed of marble and unmoving. The impassive youth all but glided to the front of Iruka's desk to a peculiar sight. The normally chipper smile and expressive eyes were tightened and almost forced in confusion at the boy in front of him. Regardless he _was_ a Chuunin and recovered well enough as the young boy bowed deeply towards him.

"That little pipsqueak won't last a week." A child towards the back, with the telltale markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks, whispered lips turned up in a smirk.

Ignoring the obvious skepticism surrounding one so young entering the classroom Iruka continued, "Hello there, welcome to the senior academy class level. I'm sure if you apply yourself this transition shouldn't be too difficult. Your name didn't come on the transfer memo though," at this Iruka double checked the paperwork, it was quite odd "Would you mind going ahead an introducing yourself to your new peers?" With that Iruka wave his arms out towards the rest of the class in a decidedly urging manner. The class looked on in disdain, most doubting the youth had much more than book smarts to stand on.

The young boy turned smoothly to the classroom and spoke in an even tone that grabbed all attention making him seem even older than they "Good morning, my name is Namikaze Naruto and I am nine years old." He performed a smaller bow this time and turned back to Iruka who urged him to sit wherever he liked. The classroom and Iruka however could only think one thing.

YONDAIME-SAMA'S SON!?

Iruka's eyes were wide open in shock. The Hokage had enrolled his son in the academy and recommended him for placement in the senior class, which was due to take the final in less than a month, at only 9! The rest of the classroom broke out in hushed whispers. Not a soul in the village had laid eyes on Yondaime-sama's son since he was very young. There was a rumor he had been sent to the capitol for protection purposes.

On his way to the open seat next to none other than Uchiha Sasuke, Sasuke glanced at him for the second time since he entered the class. He seemed to try and ascertain whether or not this newcomer deserved his attention. The two clan heir locked eyes and Sasuke dismissed him. The kid was too young, a runt, and his clan couldn't back him up on the battlefield. He went back to looking out the window as Naruto sat down.

In Naruto's mind he couldn't help but wonder what his father's goal in putting him here was. He knew all of this academy level stuff and more. At least there was only a few weeks left until the final exams, then he'd get back to training ASAP! A he was thinking two pairs of eyes kept falling on his back. One was Nara Shikamaru. The young genius was also wondering why a shinobi of such renown would suddenly expose his only son, with the majority of his enemies still alive. Especially after keeping him hidden for so long unless- that was it. He became bone white. Naruto must be strong enough to protect himself from such high level shinobi. He almost got dizzy thinking about how far above himself and his peers that put the youth at. He wondered if this was the feeling of being around the like of Uchiha Itachi when he was in the academy. Feeling more thinking was simply too troublesome he laid his head back down to give his gears a rest.

The other pair of inquisitive eyes belonged to none other than the 12 year old Hyuga clan heiress, Hinata. She had to get back to her father with this information. He hated being the last to find out about important events.

Class continued on as normal with the Inuzuka heir, Kiba getting yelled at for pushing another student out of his chair. Quickly reprimanded the day digressed into learning Ninja Geometry.

Soon time for dismissal came and "Class dismissed, get home safely! Don't forget there's going to be a review on torture do's and do not's in the morning. Do the readings." As Iruka finished he noticed the telltale signs of a shushin about to go off. He wondered who in the hell would shushin into the classroom at dismissal when Naruto's body burst into electricity and dispersed crackling leaving no damage behind, just an empty seat. Uchiha Sasuke was in shock and openly surprised, his open mouth and wide eyes doing little to hide the fact. He hadn't even seen the boy make hand seals. Maybe he would have to do some recon on this unknown factor.

The rest of the class was flabbergasted, most didn't even really know about elemental manipulation or what the technique even really was but it was loud, flashy and cool.

"Settle down, nothing to worry about just exit the classroom." Iruka said lamely. "Kami-sama a nine year old doing elemental shushins, what did Yondaime-sama create?" he finished muttering under his breath gazing outwards to the classroom. Unable to grasp what he was feeling at the time. Almost as if his life would never be the same again. Looking back to the door to make sure all his students had gone he was surprised to see the dead last antisocial pessimist of his class, Mitaraishi Anko. She had a look of childlike wonderment on her face, although it was hard to gauge her emotions at times. The great but evil sannin Orochimaru had left scars deep in her psyche and body that many had observed and fewer healed. Yes, Iruka thought to himself, things were going to be different.


	2. Chapter 2

A burst of lightning surged across the floor feet away from the door of the Hokage's office and deposited Naruto. He then walked right in without knocking hearing someone shouting about 'Youthful flames of a young flower'? Whatever that meant. He shut the door behind him and approached the desk in the warm atmosphere that was the Hokage's office. Scrolls open and haphazardly strewn about almost as often as pictures of the bright eyed and faced young Hokage with his split of the image son. The messiness of a loveable genius no doubt.

Naruto came to a firm stop before the desk and the chair whirled around to front revealing a man in his late twenties from the photographs with eyes a few shades lighter than the blond in front of him.

"How was your first day son?" Minato asked the edges up his lips tugging up in a carefree manner. On the inside he was roiling with thoughts and apprehension. The only difference in Naruto's face were his eyes, they seemed to settle on the color blue and softened.

"It was quite boring Tou-sama. I already possess the knowledge the instructors are dealing with. It seems like such a waste of time." Here small movements could be seen being made by the boy, almost as if he were struggling against something unseen. "I should be perfecting my sealing formula for the Hiraishin-no-Jutsu to gain the power to protect the village." By this point it was clear he was exasperated, not overly so but it was hard to discern with the stoic child normally.

Father and son just stared comfortably at each other for a few scant moments until the signs of his son's unrest became apparent. It started with his fist clenching, except instead of the normal knuckles cracking it sounded as if currents were becoming agitated in the air, and ended with faint crackling. "I need to get stronger Tou-sama, as soon as possible!" He fists unclenched as he quieted the air back down and the sudden humidity in the air left as if it were never there.

This was the most worrisome thing for Minato. His son was a true prodigy of the lightning element and his unquenchable thirst for power wasn't sated by one or even two dozen jutsus. Naruto's mind worked at a seemingly inhuman rate with incredible leaps and bounds in power level.

So fascinated with his first and only son's ability and willingness to learn Minato kept him in a training environment for far too long accidentally. After those six short years however the damages to his psyche were apparent, he couldn't really interact with society. No friends in his generation or even close to it.

In Naruto's mind he was a measurable force and by measuring force was how he drew his conclusions of things around him. Through the exerting of his will for the good of his village was how he determined his worth. Naruto held his Tou-sama's word with the highest of regards.

As it was, he was so powerful and unpredictable Minato had no way of foretelling how his foray into the Ninja world would affect him later in life. Naruto wasn't exactly a stickler like his old student Hatake Kakashi had been, but his judgements were instant and irrefutable to anyone he didn't already deem his superior. Coupled with the seemingly random jumps in logic to conclusions he had the capacity to make some harsh decisions when it came to taking a life.

Pushing it off knowing he wouldn't be sending his son on any C-Ranks for a while Minato leaned back in his chair staring fondly out of the window into his village, his home.

"Son, I think you need to understand what being truly strong means."

"Truly…strong?"

"Yes, you can only become truly strong by having something more precious to you than life itself to protect. The bonds we form with those around us in our great home give us strength. These bonds become cherished and must be protected." He stood up and walked around his ornate desk and knelt in front of his son,

"In protecting these bonds we surpass our own previously thought plateaus to keep them from harm, this is how we become _truly strong_."

He stood up ruffled his son hair earning him a slight frizz to his own hair before dispelling the ambient lightning chakra always coursing through his child.

Now young Naruto knew he wasn't some average nine year old, he realistically knew his brain was just faster than most people period. He could ingest information as if he were a sponge, then analyze, reorganize and strategize in straightforward mathematical precision. This was the source of his ire in this moment. He couldn't fully grasp what his father, his world, his duty was trying to teach him. Every time his father spoke of these bonds his analytical powers were seemingly lost to him. Every time his father would look upon him with those disappointed eyes.

Unable to bare the weight of that disappointment any longer he dispersed in a smaller, much quieter electrical explosion than he used a few minutes prior. Reappearing atop the head of the man he just fled from Naruto gazed out try and calculate these bonds again. As he gazed out into the village the wind and water in the air called to him in the voice of the storm. He decided to heed the voice and try to truly conquer his element again.

The ultimate form of Lightning manipulation was what his father and godfather had called it. The focused manipulation of the water molecules in the air while simultaneously manipulating the opposing dry and moist air molecules into the favored conditions of the Cumulonimbus clouds that his true element, Lightning, preferred.

Today was different for some reason to Naruto. As he sat down atop the cold stone of his father's head emotions in turmoil and mind racing he felt an opposing flow full of chaotic energy and purpose. As his eyes closed he felt a sense of peace lift him away from reality. The energies flowed in synergy throughout his body.

As Naruto's sense of peace and tranquility grew; the normally year round clear, beautiful skies of Konoha began to warp and shift. He could suddenly feel the lightning almost begging him to call her. Urging him to reach out and grasp her power.

Several moments later the clouds above swirled massively gaining volume vertically and growing dark and heavy. Suddenly cool air howled being drawn in from the west increasing the volume of the ominous cloud formations.

Suddenly Naruto's eyes snapped open and blinding red, purple and blue lights swirling in his irises. The chaotic and now noticeably red energy raged through his body and the call of the lightning was deafeningly beautiful. Slowly ever so slowly his left hand rose slightly cupped as if being offered something politely and he smiled.

 **CRAAAAACK!**

An enormous bolt of plasma instantly appeared in the palm of Naruto's cupped fingers. It didn't stop but disappeared into his body driving him ramrod stiff in his sitting position. Harshly a millisecond following that countless bolts of blood red lightning flew everywhere from Naruto's body. Slowly, he started to stand back up confused as to what he was feeling.

He had created a bolt of True Lightning and he caught it, as soon as it had touched his fingers everything changed. He suddenly could feel the electricity in the air and was almost overwhelmed when he reached his newfound sense out to the village and felt the energy given off.

His vision seemed different as well, brighter almost but somehow shinier he supposed. He reached out to feel for his chakra and was shocked. The flow and feel of his chakra was so potent and fast now, he wondered…

Naruto held his palm out and focused on bringing electrical chakra to his fingertips and sharp jolts were flying out in perfect rhythm as his will imagined at and at a thought it was dispersed with no noise.

Looking back over the village he almost swore he could feel the puzzlement of his village at the crazy bout of weather occurring randomly. A rare smile graced his face as he thought of the new challenges that awaited him with the growth in power he'd just amassed.

A single pair of Sharingan eyes watched from many rooftops away, simply calculating amusedly.


End file.
